The Cole Trilogy: The Physician, Shaman, and Matters of Choice

Kobo ebook | September 11, 2012

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Noah Gordon’s acclaimed trilogy, spanning one thousand years in the lives of one uncommonly gifted family

In The Physician, an orphan in eleventh-century London, Robert Cole, becomes a fast-talking swindler. As he matures, his strange gift—an acute sensitivity to impending death—never leaves him, and he yearns to become a healer. Arab madrassas are the only authentic medical schools, and he makes his perilous way to Persia. Christians are barred from Muslim schools, but by claiming he is a Jew, he studies under the world’s most renowned physician, Avicenna. Cole’s journey and love for a woman who must struggle against her only rival—medicine—make The Physician a riveting modern classic.

In Shaman, Dr. Robert Judson Cole, nineteenth-century descendent of the first Robert Cole, travels from his ravaged Scottish homeland, through the operating rooms of antebellum Boston, to the cabins of frontier Illinois. In the wilderness he befriends the starving remnants of the Sauk tribe, who have fled their reservation. In the process, he absorbs their culture and learns native remedies that enrich his classical medical education. He marries a remarkable settler woman he had saved from illness. The Cole family is drawn into the bloody vortex of the Civil War, and their determination to survive in the midst of wilderness and violence will stay with the reader long after the final page.

In Matters of Choice, Roberta Jeanne d’Arc Cole is the latest first-born descendant of Dr. Robert Cole. Favored to be named associate chief of medicine at a Boston hospital, she is married to a surgeon and owns a trophy residence in Cambridge as well as a summer house. But everything melts away. Her gender and her work at an abortion clinic cost her the hospital appointment. Her marriage fails. Crushed, she goes to her farmhouse in western Massachusetts, thinking to sell it, and finds an unexpected life. How she continues to fight for every woman’s right to choose, while acknowledging her own ticking clock and maternal yearning, makes this prize-winning third story of the Cole trilogy relevant and unforgettable.

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Jeff from
Good readOutstanding first book will hook you. The others will make you want more . I highly recommend this series

Date published: 2015-09-09

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Miguel from
A good readI read the entire trilogy. I found the first book the best followed by the second and the third one the least enjoyable. I enjoy character driven books and the characters in the first book were outstanding.

Date published: 2015-06-29

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Dianne from
Taste of HoneyThis is now the 4th book I have read byy this authour and now onto #5. They are well written with colourful decriptions, well defined characters, incite on the human condition and interesting plots. Page tuners!

Date published: 2015-04-30

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Pupa from
The Replacement WifeInteresting book. I recommend everyone to read this book. It is interesting and heartfelt. Could not put it down

Date published: 2015-04-25

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Valerie Jackson from
Title very accurate of storyGood book, keeps your interest. I found my self rooting for all the characters. All the characters were likable Its not often not to find a villian in a book!

Date published: 2015-04-06

Rated 3 out of
5 by
Buffy from
Garden of liesGood story...but too dragged out. I found myself scanning to get through it,although i admit i have considerd reading other books by this author.

Date published: 2015-04-02

Rated 3 out of
5 by
Kelly from
The replacement wifeIt seemed to be missing something. I was able to put down without thinking about it and pick it up later.

Date published: 2015-03-22

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Bailey from
The replacment wifeI thought that i read to l9ng only t be dssapponted i thought that i paid to much for a book that never lived up to the expections that i heard i will never go in again wih out a resonable review

Date published: 2015-03-20

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Rae from
Garden of LiesI loved this book! Reading it felt like being with family. I've grown so fond of the characters- I can't wait to read the sequel, "Thorns of Truth"!

Date published: 2015-03-06

Rated 1 out of
5 by
Teresa from
A SAD TALEA sad story of how trying to control others lives can cause heartache and pain. The heroine is a stupid woman who never catures the readers heart, and instad of gaining my sympathy, got my dislike. By 1-2 way through the book, she was so irratating I wished it was a murder mhstery so someone would shoot her!

Date published: 2015-02-06

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Fiana from
Growing upIt shows how growing up can be hard. Take chances, grow up! Also what it is like to be, a parent. Trust your child.

Date published: 2014-12-12

Rated 3 out of
5 by
Rhonda from
Interesting conceptInteresting concept; I didn't like last few chapters and the choice author made.

Date published: 2014-11-18

Rated 5 out of
5 by
S from
The Replacement WifeThis story explores one woman's issues that followed her from childhood into a long term marriage. When the going got tough she wanted to protect her family but for the wrong reasons and hastened the demise of her marriage. This book is thoughtfully written with modern life

Date published: 2014-11-05

Rated 3 out of
5 by
Jodi from
The Replacement WifeTheme was interesting but I am a little disappointed with how it all played out.

Date published: 2014-10-02

Rated 4 out of
5 by
BradshawMail from
The Replacement WifeI thought this was a good book. It was better than I expected. Recommended to me by a friend. Good author.

Date published: 2014-08-17

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Mary from
The replacement wideMost enjoyable ! An unpredictable read

Date published: 2014-07-28

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Deborah from
Replacement WifeNice to find a book with a few twists. Fairly easy to get caught up in this story.

Date published: 2014-07-16

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Rhonda from
The Replacement WifeVery interesting twists to a very predictable ending.

Date published: 2014-07-15

Rated 3 out of
5 by
justjayde from
The Replacement WifeThis book really did not impress me very much, but that is ok. It was just not my cup of tea, which does not mean it is not a good read for somebody else!

Date published: 2014-07-04

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Desiree from
The Replacement WifeLove this book. It's serious plot was intriguing. I couldn't put it down. I love the characters and the plot. I cried with this touching story.

Date published: 2014-06-03

Rated 4 out of
5 by
patricebask from
The Replacement Wifeawesome book, love this auther!!! I fully enjoyed this book, read it on my winter vacation , kept my attention stayed up all night reading it. passed on to my friends they also truly enjoyed! Would recommend this book to all my friends and couleagues!

Date published: 2014-06-01

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Misty from
The Replacement WifeAbsolutely one of the best books I've read lately!

Date published: 2014-04-28

Rated 4 out of
5 by
tashamoutsos from
The Replacement WifeWell written story but some parts dragged a bit. Author did a great jog developing the characters. I went from liking some of them to disliking them as the story progressed. Camille was a perfect example of this. The book was engaging and I was swept into the story right from the beginning and couldn't put the book down! Great book to read on the beach on a vacation.

Date published: 2014-04-03

Rated 3 out of
5 by
Marisa Adams from
The Replacement WifeWhat i liked was that the characters had flaws. I didn't always like either of them the husband or Camille. However, as I said, I felt these characters were somewhat flawed and they have personal growth throughout the book not in a good lite i might add. The author does really get across her point about being careful what you wish for.

Date published: 2014-03-07

Rated 2 out of
5 by
Val from
The Replacement WifeNot my favourite book. Didn't love the characters; even though I wanted to like them, I found many too one-dimensional and the few that weren't had such unlikeable aspects to their personality that I couldn't cheer for them.

Date published: 2014-02-27

Rated 1 out of
5 by
Allison from
Predictable and sentimentalFinished it but I found the characters lacked depth and the story was boring.